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Commercial and recreational fishing are incredibly important to the Gulf’s coastal communities. Each represents tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity.

Proposals being considered by Congress could undermine years of hard work to rebuild the red snapper population and creating dangerous precedent. The recovery of red snapper is a remarkable success story that we can all be proud of and we need to make sure that progress is not reversed.

As a chef and business owner you can make a difference in the debate on this issue. That’s why chefs from across the Gulf and the rest of the U.S. are coming together to send a letter to Congress asking for any legislation on fishing include safeguards for conservation, require regulations be based on the best available science and include reasonable deadlines for rebuilding fish populations.

Please read the letter and fill out the form below if you would like to add your name and send a message to Congress that we can’t turn back on the progress we have made and that we want solutions that will help conserve fish populations for future generations.

More than 150 chefs from across the United States have added their names to this letter, including: Jacques Pepin, Mary Sue Milliken, Rick Moonen, Kerry Heffernan, Michel Nischan, Haley Bittermann, Bun Lai, Eric Rivera, Samuel Spencer, and Eric Lackey.

May 2, 2017 – NOAA has just announced that this year’s federal red snapper recreational fishing season will be three days long. The season was 11 days last years and has been consistently decreasing over the last decade. This short federal season is unfair to private recreational anglers and they deserve a management system with more sustainable access to federal waters. However, the factors that led us here are complex and policy makers should also look at decisions made by Gulf States to understand how overfishing occurred in 2016 and why the season has been cut again.

In the early 2000’s red snapper were pushed to the brink after decades of overfishing by both recreational and commercial fishermen. Harvest limits had to be drastically cut and commercial fishermen moved into an individual fishing quota system that encouraged conservation and ended the race to fish caused by short seasons. The result has been a remarkable rebuilding of red snapper, allowing commercial fishermen to provide fresh, wild caught red snapper to consumers across the country. In fact, the total annual allotment of red snapper that everyone in the Gulf can catch, including recreational fishermen, has more than doubled over the last nine years.

While federal managers have been successful in keeping commercial fishermen at or below their quota for a decade now, inconsistent state and federal recreational seasons have failed anglers and led to regular overharvesting in that sector – including going 25% over the recreational quota in 2016. Last year Texas had its state waters open for red snapper fishing for 365 days with a four fish bag limit, Louisiana 272, Florida 85, Alabama 66 and Mississippi 102. The result is that upwards of 79% of the total Gulf-wide science-based limit of recreational red snapper is now being caught within nine miles. That leaves very little quota for fishing between 9-200 miles.

Anglers are the ones that lose quality access to deeper more productive federal waters in this protracted fight between the Gulf States and the federal government. They deserve a better system that gives them the flexibility to fish when and where they choose and that produces more accurate real-time catch records while preventing overfishing. The Gulf of Mexico fishery is a shared national treasure that should be accessible to all Americans whether by boat, grocery store or restaurant.

It is time to move past anti-commercial rhetoric and fish grab schemes to real solutions that preserve the balance we all deserve in the Gulf. We encourage policy makers to take a close look at proposals under consideration in the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to give the states more flexibility to manage their private anglers while still preserving science-based catch limits and the protections given to commercial fishermen under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

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Share the Gulf is a coalition of chefs, restaurateurs, restaurant associations, seafood businesses, fishermen, conservationists, local food advocates and regular consumers that want to keep the local Gulf seafood industry fair and strong. Our simple goal is to make sure Gulf seafood continues to be shared fairly and sustainably so that all of us can enjoy it for generations to come. Join the coalition at www.sharethegulf.org.

In the past year, Share the Gulf’s coalition of concerned chefs, fishermen, seafood providers and conservationists have made great progress making sure our Gulf fisheries are managed fairly and responsibly.

The importance of local seafood to communities, fishermen and chefs continues to be in the forefront of our minds. Just last week, the National Restaurant Association released its annual report on Food Trends, surveying 1300 professional chefs. It’s no surprise that local, sustainable seafood dominated trends for 2015. Now more than ever, we need to protect our right to enjoy the seafood caught by hardworking fishermen in Gulf waters.

Unfortunately, the Council still has a lot of work to do to improve fisheries management in a way that will find solutions for everyone in the fishery. During their last meeting, the Council put Amendment 28 back on the agenda for their next meeting in Point Clear, Alabama on January 26, 2015. This proposal would take nearly half a million pounds of sustainably-caught red snapper off the consumer market next year, would stall important progress towards management solutions for the fishery and would hurt our coastal economy. In fact, a group of independent scientists appointed by the Council to provide expert, unbiased advice met over the summer to review this amendment and concluded by majority vote that reallocation is not necessary or proper at this time. This is not the right way forward.

We have made a lot of progress this year, but we will need your continued help in 2015 to reach our Gulf leaders. The Share the Gulf team will continue to monitor the Council’s actions and keep you updated.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s Socioeconomic Scientific and Statistical Committee (SESSC) unanimously agreed that instead of reallocating red snapper to the recreational fishery (Amendment 28), the Gulf Council should shift its work toward finding management solutions that could improve fishing opportunities for recreational fishermen.

Amendment 28 is a controversial proposal being considered by the Gulf Council that would take a portion of the red snapper fishery out of the consumer seafood market and move into the recreational fishery.

The SESSC, a 13-member panel that includes many experts on fisheries economics who are appointed by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, is tasked with providing impartial, science-based recommendations on proposals being considered by the Council.

The public, scientists and fishermen across the Gulf of Mexico have made it clear that reallocating fish is not the answer to the problems recreational fishermen are facing. We need new management that can improve fishing for all anglers and we hope the Gulf Council will pursue these ideas.

In recent months, the Council has begun to move forward with amendments that may improve recreational red snapper management and provide more fishing opportunities for everyone. These ideas include giving charter boats and individual anglers separate quotas, delegating certain individual angler management responsibilities to the states, improving recreational data collection and an individual allocation-based system for the charter industry.

Share the Gulf believes that if managed correctly, the red snapper fishery can provide enough fish for everyone. In recent months, the coalition of more than 30,000 Gulf residents have urged the Gulf Council to halt all work on Amendment 28 until the recreational fishery has new management that improves fishing access for all anglers.

Key West, Florida – Citing the need for management changes in the recreational fishery and overwhelming opposition to reallocation by Gulf residents, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council voted Thursday to defer action on Amendment 28, a proposal that would take a portion of the red snapper fishery from Gulf seafood providers for the exclusive use of recreational fishing.

The Council’s vote means it will defer any further action on Amendment 28 until it has completed work on another proposal, “Amendment 40.” This proposal lays the groundwork for new management options for both private anglers and federally permitted recreational charter operators who provide access to recreational anglers through chartered offshore trips.

“We are glad to see the Gulf Council focusing on ideas that could help the recreational fishery,” said John Schmidt, a commercial fisherman from Madeira Beach, Florida and Share the Gulf co-chair. “Share the Gulf was built on the idea that if we manage the entire fishery well, we can share it fairly and sustainably.”

Amendment 28 in its current form (“Alternative 5”) would take nearly half a million pounds of red snapper out of the commercial seafood market next year alone and shift the majority of future increases to the recreational sector. This is in exchange for adding maybe one day to a nine-day recreational fishing season. Red snapper is a shared fishery and the total allowable catch is already split almost evenly between commercial and recreational fishermen. Unfortunately, despite that even split, anglers are stuck in a failed management system that leads to shorter and shorter seasons every year, frustrating everyone.

“Reallocation is a false promise to recreational fishermen,” said Capt. Shane Cantrell, a recreational charter captain from Galveston, Texas and Share the Gulf member. “The recreational fishery needs a new management plan and the Council’s action today takes this divisive issue off the table so we can focus on real solutions to the problems recreational fishermen are facing.”

The Gulf Council has received thousands of comments over the last three months in opposition to Amendment 28. A recent review of those comments by Share the Gulf showed that Gulf residents opposed reallocation by a nearly 3-1 margin.

While Amendment 28 has been deferred for now, Share the Gulf and its members will continue to educate Gulf leaders on the downsides of reallocation and work to promote solutions to the failed federal recreational management system.

“Reallocation will hurt Gulf seafood providers and consumers while doing nothing to help the recreational fishery,” said Buddy Guindon, a commercial fisherman from Galveston, Texas and Share the Gulf member. “We need the Council to permanently stop work on Amendment 28 and fully focus its efforts on solutions not fish grabs,” said Guindon.

Key West, Florida – As the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council resumes consideration of a proposal this week to reallocate red snapper away from consumers, a new review of Council records released today shows that Gulf residents who have submitted written comments on the plan oppose it by a nearly 3-1 margin.

Known as “Amendment 28,” the plan would permanently shift the amount of red snapper caught in the Gulf away from commercial fishermen and consumers and towards the recreational sector. Red snapper is a shared fishery and the total allowable catch is already split almost evenly between commercial and recreational fishermen. Frustrating recreational fishermen and others, anglers are regrettably stuck in a failed management system that leads to shorter and shorter seasons every year

While the vast majority of recreational and commercial fishermen believe in sharing the Gulf’s resources, some suggest that the solution is simply to take fish from consumers and reserve more of it for offshore recreational fishing. Share the Gulf and the vast majority of Gulf residents disagree.

As of June 20, 2014, the Council received thousands of comments from Gulf residents on the measure. A review done by Share the Gulf of these comments shows that Gulf residents who oppose reallocation far outnumber those who support it, both as a region and in each individual Gulf state. In addition, during a series of public hearings this spring, representatives from the Council heard from an overwhelming number of recreational and commercial fishermen as well as other stakeholders who believe “Amendment 28” should be voted down by the Council.

Share the Gulf just submitted a letter to the Gulf Council signed by its state co-chairs from across the region. The Share the Gulf coalition represents more than 30,000 Gulf residents, including hundreds of chefs, restaurateurs, fishermen, seafood industry leaders, retailers, and conservationists, as well as every state restaurant association across the Gulf of Mexico and the National Restaurant Association. The letter from Share the Gulf states, “reallocation will hurt Gulf seafood businesses and will not help recreational fishermen.”

“There is increasing consumer demand for fresh, locally caught seafood,” said Chef Stephen Stryjewski, Share the Gulf’s Chef Co-Chair of New Orleans. “Gulf red snapper is a huge draw at restaurants like mine for tourists and locals alike and limiting the supply would hurt my business.”

Not only is the public opposed to reallocation, the economic justification for it just isn’t there. Amendment 28 in its current form (“Alternative 5”) would take nearly half a million pounds of red snapper out of the commercial seafood market next year alone and shift the majority of future increases to the recreational sector. This is in exchange for adding maybe one day to a nine-day recreational fishing season. With this proposal, everybody loses. It is not surprising that NMFS scientists and the Council’s own socioeconomic advisors have repeatedly raised concerns about the validity of the economic analysis used to justify reallocation.

“Reallocating fish is not the answer to the problems recreational fishermen are facing,” said Shane Cantrell, a charter captain from Galveston, Texas and Share the Gulf member. “We need a management plan that will actually increase fishing opportunities over the long term. Amendment 28 is a false promise to Gulf anglers.”

“Every American should be able to enjoy the seafood from our fisheries we’ve worked so hard to rebuild,” said John Schmidt, a commercial fisherman from Clearwater, Florida and Share the Gulf co-chair. “The Council should be focused on new management plans that will actually improve seasons for recreational fishermen, not reallocation schemes that hurt seafood providers and consumers.”

(Washington, D.C.) The National Restaurant Association has asked the governors in five Gulf States to support their local restaurants in a quest to maintain uncompromised, year-round access to seafood fished in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

In a letter sent today to Governors Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Rick Scott of Florida, Robert Bentley of Alabama, Phil Bryant of Mississippi and Rick Perry of Texas, the NRA asked the Governors to “stand with us and support the commercial fishing sector that supplies restaurants in your state[s] and throughout the country.”

“In recent months, the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Council has proposed changing the red snapper allocation in the Gulf to reduce the share that currently goes to commercial fisherman,” said Scott DeFife, Executive Vice President, Policy and Government Affairs, National Restaurant Association. “We strongly oppose these efforts. If successful, these proposed changes could seriously harm the commercial fishing industry and the ability of restaurants to source red snapper from the Gulf. Ultimately these changes could result in shortages and lead to significant price hikes or an inability to fulfill our customers’ desires for locally caught seafood.”

DeFife noted that the Association supports existing catch share allocations for red snapper in the Gulf. The ability to continue to source the fresh, local seafood of the area is essential to the growth of the affected states’ economies and their various foodservice businesses.

Catch Of The Day: NRA In Effort To Protect Gulf Snapper

April 10, 2014

The National Restaurant Association, in its continuing effort to support sustainability practices in the foodservice industry, joined Share the Gulf, a coalition of chefs, restaurateurs, restaurant associations, seafood suppliers, fishermen, consumers and conservationists working to protect their access to fish in the Gulf States.

The initiative, launched in 2013, aims to ensure the region’s restaurants and grocery businesses maintain an equitable share of the Gulf States’ red snapper catch.

“Our goal is to make sure Gulf seafood continues to be shared fairly and sustainably so that all of us can enjoy it for generations to come,” said Stephen Stryjewski, executive chef at New Orleans-based Link Restaurant Group and Share the Gulf co-chair. “We believe – and science shows ‑ that if Gulf fisheries are well managed, there will be a growing population with plenty of snapper, grouper and other fish to go around. We are committed to sitting down and working together to find a productive, fair and reasonable solution about how to share the Gulf.”

Scott DeFife, the NRA’s executive vice president of policy and government affairs, said the Association is supporting Share the Gulf so the region’s restaurants and other food businesses retain access to the fish and do not experience business downturns because that access is denied.

(Baton Rouge, LA – April 9, 2014) Fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico will be facing an even shorter recreational season for red snapper as the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, a group of state and federal fishery managers that oversee offshore fisheries, works to comply with several standards set by the Magnuson-Stevens Act after a federal court ruled their years of management of the recreational fishery illegal.

On Tuesday the Council’s Reef Fish Committee, which makes recommendations to the full Council, voted in favor of an 11-day recreational season with a two-fish per day, per angler limit.

“Nobody wants 11 days and shortened seasons will not solve the problem the fishery is facing,” said Billy Archer, Share the Gulf member and a charter captain from Panama City, Florida. “The good news is that better solutions for recreational fishermen exist and we urge the full Council to adopt comprehensive management measures instead of the same old failed approaches.”

The full council will consider the recommendation of the reef fish committee on Thursday and will likely vote to request that the Secretary of Commerce take this emergency action to reduce the likelihood of quota overages during the 2014 season.

Some Council members are attempting to attach new must-pass accountability measures for the recreational fishery to Amendment 28, a proposal to take a portion of the commercial fishery’s quota and give it to recreational fishermen, so that the Council will be forced to pass the amendment and reallocate the red snapper fishery.

“These types of maneuvers are wrong and confuse a fish grab with real changes that can improve fishing for anglers across the Gulf of Mexico,” said Bubba Cochrane, Texas Co-Chair for Share the Gulf and commercial fisherman. “Reallocation is a false promise to recreational fishermen and a distraction from improving the management of the recreational fishery. It will take fish out of Gulf seafood industry and do nothing to help anglers in the long-term. Combining new accountability measures with Amendment 28 will only cause more chaos and more division in the Gulf.”

The Gulf Council has been presented with several alternative management programs that could improve fishing opportunities for recreational fishermen while improving accountability, but have yet to move any of them forward for serious consideration. “The Council cannot continue to ignore the demands for new management options,” said Archer.

The Council must implement an adequate management plan for the 2014 season by May 15, 2014 in order to comply with the federal court’s ruling, and has until next year to implement permanent changes to the management program for the recreational red snapper fishery.

“The Council should permanently end the reallocation distraction so that it can avoid further legal action and fulfill its obligations under the law to improve recreational management and ensure long-term sustainability of the fishery,” said Cochrane.

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Share the Gulf is a coalition of chefs, restaurateurs, restaurant associations, seafood businesses, fishermen, conservationists, local food advocates and regular consumers that want to keep the local Gulf seafood industry fair and strong. Our simple goal is to make sure Gulf seafood continues to be shared fairly and sustainably so that all of us can enjoy it for generations to come. Join the coalition at www.sharethegulf.org.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has scheduled a series of public hearings around the Gulf of Mexico beginning Monday, March 10, 2014.

The meetings will continue through March 24. The purpose of the meetings is to solicit public comment on Amendment 28 – Red Snapper Reallocation.

The amendment, which has been moved forward by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, would take nearly half a million pounds of popular red snapper off the consumer market in 2015 alone and give it to the recreational sector.

These public hearings are an opportunity to let the Council know that this reallocation is false promise to Gulf anglers and will only hurt Gulf fishing businesses.

You can keep track of the hearings and their locations via our Facebook page.

Public Hearing on Amendment 28 – Red Snapper Reallocation

All public hearings begin at 6:00 p.m. local time and end no later than 9:00 p.m.

March 20, 2014Call-in/Webinar Session
To get the call-in number, please register before the webinar begins, the call-in number will be provided to you in a confirmation e-mail.Visit www.gulfcouncil.org to learn more